Overheard a young guy rip on my tape measure setup, made me rethink 20 years

Was on a remodel job last Tuesday over in Arlington and this kid, maybe 22, looked at my belt and laughed. Said I was carrying 3 pencils, a nail set, and a framing square like I was prepping for surgery. He had one pencil, a speed square, and his phone. At first I was annoyed but then I thought about how much of my older gear I keep out of habit. I still use a chalk line every day even though laser levels can do the job in half the time now. That kid snapped a few layout lines with a laser and it was dead on. I ended up borrowing his setup for the rest of the day and honestly it worked better for the task. So now I'm curious, has anyone else here dumped old tools just because some younger guy showed you a simpler way? Or am I just turning into the old timer I used to roll my eyes at?

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the_mary13d ago

Did you catch any of the noise about how contractors under 30 are basically ditching half the stuff in the big box stores? I read this piece last month saying the laser and a good pencil beat most of the classic belt stuff for rough framing now. Honestly, I kept my chalk line too, but I can see how that kid's setup saves time without all the extra weight on your hips.